


Have Me And Hold Me

by letsjustsee



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, No Smut, Wedding Day AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-18
Updated: 2017-04-18
Packaged: 2018-10-20 05:06:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,872
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10655523
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/letsjustsee/pseuds/letsjustsee
Summary: His clumsy trips were now even more burdened by the sudden downpour. Twice he almost fell making his way back to the ceremony area, mostly due to his insistence on running across the lawn in between trips.The rain was relentless, coming at him from all angles with a deafening wind that muted everything outside of his own heavy breathing.He felt like he was making pretty good headway, all things considered.His pace was stalled only momentarily when, on his tenth or so trip, he thought about what someone looking out the window at that moment would see. Louis in his formal shirt and trousers, barefoot, stomping through the muddy lawn to gracelessly lug two chairs at a time towards the building.Or, a wedding day AU in which Louis will let nothing stand in the way of a perfect day - especially a little rain.





	Have Me And Hold Me

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was written as part of an ongoing challenge. We each select random numbers and are given a specific emotion from the book 1000 Feelings For Which There Are No Names. To read the other fics written in this challenge, [click here](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/ShortFic_Challenge_For_Which_There_Is_No_Name/works), or you can find the masterpost on tumblr [here](http://lululawrence.tumblr.com/post/159679804243/1000-feelings-for-which-there-are-no-names-prompt).
> 
> My prompt this week was #598: The anger that it had to start pouring right now.

Louis squinted out the window with narrowed eyes, daring the weather to test him.

“It better not fucking rain,” he muttered under his breath. “I swear to God.”

He was talking to himself, really, but Niall snorted from across the room.

“You know when you called to tell me about the engagement, I really thought Harry would be the one stressing over wedding plans. You’ve proven me wrong, Tommo.”

Louis didn’t even acknowledge him, simply kept glaring at the grey skies outside with arms crossed. He was already in his tux, and briefly thought about removing his jacket. Potential stress sweat was a real issue here. Harry would kill him if he showed up to the ceremony with creases in his jacket.

He shook his head darkly, “Better not fucking rain.”

“You said that already,” Niall said, hopping up off the couch where he had been scrolling through his phone. He gently guided Louis away from the window, the offending clouds rolling in quickly, and encouraged him to settle back onto one of the large chairs. “Should I call Harry? Shouldn’t he be in here?”

“No,” Louis said quickly, cutting him off. “I already told him I can’t see him before the ceremony, it’s just going to stress me out more.”

Niall laughed, a relaxed tone to his voice, “You’re something else.”

Louis was only able to sit for about a minute, knee bouncing up and down in a rapid motion, fingers tapping on the arm of the chair. He was quiet, but his mind was racing through every possibility.

“Right,” he said a moment later, jumping up and startling Niall. “I’ve got to handle this.”

“What’s there to handle? Either it will rain or it won’t. That’s what the wedding planner’s for.”

Niall stayed seated, too used to Louis’ histrionics in situations like this, too absorbed in his phone to really comfort his best friend. Any attempts at consoling him would have been useless at this point, anyway.

“There’s got to be a plan, Niall. Rain is not going to fuck up this day. And that wedding planner is bloody useless, I told Harry from the beginning, but he insisted.”

Louis was already halfway out the room as he said this, not really caring for a response, not really expecting one either. Niall halfheartedly called goodbye to him, and Louis gave a short wave over his shoulder without looking back.

There was only a little over an hour to go until the ceremony, and every single detail that Louis had meticulously planned in the past year went careening through his head at lightning speed. Caterers, DJ, photographer, the list went on and on – Louis would have to speak with everyone and make sure things were in place should the weather decide to fuck it all up.

“Should have gone with the indoor plan from the beginning, don’t even know what I was thinking.” Louis was muttering to himself as he walked quickly down the hallway, swinging his head left and right into all the doors he passed in the corridor, hoping to see someone on his ever-growing mental list.

When planning started, Louis and Harry both thought an outdoor wedding was the perfect choice, and although there had been quiet murmurings from everyone about _rain plans_ and _just in case_ , Louis’ stubborn nature had led them here.

He could kick himself now.

“Summer,” he shouted, hearing the _click clack_ of stiletto heels somewhere up ahead, knowing it must be the wedding planner. No one else had such a distinct sound that followed them.

He heard the sigh before he actually saw her, bracing himself for her polite but exasperated tone. It seemed to be her only setting when he was around.

“Yes, Mr. Tomlinson?”

Halting her quick march, she pivoted mid step in her high heels gracefully, coming to a stop right in front of Louis. She had an earpiece attached to her, with a clipboard under one arm and a large Starbucks drink in the other. Louis could hear the faint voice of someone on the other end requesting something of her.

“Call me Louis, Summer, please.”

He had asked her repeatedly not to be so formal with him, but apparently it was ingrained in her.

She flashed him a movie star smile and said, “I’m sorry. Louis. What can I help you with? Shouldn’t you be relaxing? Everything is going perfectly.”

Louis was trying to be patient. He really was. If not for himself, then definitely for Harry, who had reminded him no less than five hundred times throughout this process that he needed to, how did he put it? _Chill out._

Louis was chill. In every aspect of their life, their relationship, Louis was the chill one. He didn’t even know what it was about this wedding that had kicked him into high gear, but here he was – he was solidly in high gear, and there really wasn’t anywhere else to go, so fuck it.

“Alright, you see love,” Louis started, trying hard not to adopt a defensive stance. Summer was still smiling politely at him, giant coffee cup in hand. “This is where we differ, because I’m pretty sure the weather forecast we were all promised for weeks was wrong. Have you looked outside?”

A flash of discomfort ran across Summer’s face, but she schooled it quickly into something more neutral. She was a pro, Louis had to give her that.

“Mr.-” she started, but Louis raised his eyebrows at her, and she stopped mid-sentence.

“Louis,” she restarted, adopting a relaxed tone that Louis thought was supposed to convey teamwork. “Yes, it might rain-“

Louis went to interrupt her, but she rolled on.

“It _might_ rain, but we have plans in place already should that happen. It won’t take long to change things, just a call on my radio,” she pointed to her earpiece which seemed to have quieted down. “I didn’t want to make the call preemptively, but if you think we should change things up now, I would be happy to do so for you.”

Louis narrowed his eyes at her.

 _Chill out, chill out_ he kept repeating to himself, taking a deep breath to steady himself.

“Guests will be arriving soon,” he started, and she cut him off again.

“Absolutely,” she flashed him another perfectly rehearsed smile, and he could feel his annoyance rising. “So why don’t I make a few calls? The venue’s ballroom is beautiful, and the day will still be perfect.”

“Won’t that take way more planning than we have time for?”

Her smile faltered, and she looked torn.

“Well, actually Mr.-“ she stopped herself midsentence again, trying to avoid another rebuke from Louis, “I mean, _Harry_ , and I, uh,”

Her uber-professional demeanor was cracking a little, her smile faltering. She looked nervous.

“Yes,” Louis said, gesturing with his hand for her to continue, “You and Harry…”

She seemed to rush out the next sentence.

“He thought it would be best to have a solid back up plan in place. He had me ensure that the ballroom was ready to go should the weather not cooperate.”

Louis could feel his mouth fall open before he had a chance to stop it.

“I’m so sorry, Louis, I know you had your heart set on an outdoor ceremony-“

He snapped his mouth shut and cut her off with a wave of his hand.

“It’s fine,” he said, his tone dripping with a distinct not-fine tone. Summer looked ready to bolt, her stiletto heels poised to take off running at the first opportunity. Her deer in the headlights look triggered something in Louis, and he took another deep breath, his body relaxing in defeat. He rubbed his face with both hands.

“I’m sorry Summer.”

He dropped his arms to his side as he glanced back up at her, and she looked surprised. He rolled his eyes.

“I know I’ve probably been your least favorite person you’ve ever worked with, but I can at least admit it when I’m being awful. I know I’m a little shit most times.”

She smiled again, but this time it wasn’t the fake, blinding smile she reserved for most interactions. Instead it was a half quirk of the lips, an unspoken _yeah, that’s the truth_ behind her amused expression. It made Louis chuckle.

“You really have been great,” he said, gentler this time. “I just want everything to be perfect.”

“I want that too, Louis. And it will be, just let me make the call. Everything will be set by the time the guests start arriving.”

The reminder that the ceremony was fast approaching sparked intense butterflies in Louis’ stomach once again, and his nervous energy ramped back up without warning.

“Alright,” he said, clapping his hands together. “Well what needs to be done other than a call?”

Summer looked hesitant to tell him, but he stared at her with eyebrows raised, waiting on her response, not giving her a chance to escape him.

“Um, well. The chairs from the outdoor ceremony will just need to be moved inside,” she started, glancing at her clipboard briefly.

“Perfect,” Louis said, startling her into looking back up at him. He was already scooting around her to head towards the venue doors, where he could see the rows of white chairs ready to go. “I’m going to go work on that.”

“Oh no, please don’t,” Summer started, but Louis was already halfway down the hallway, walking quickly with his arms swinging. “I’ll just call the manager, he’ll send some employees to do that. You really don’t have to.”

Her pleas fell on deaf ears, though, as Louis reached the door quickly and swung it open as a gust of wind rushed inside.

“Mr. Tomlinson, seriously,” she sounded a bit hysterical, her professional demeanor slipping yet again in the face of a very determined client.

Louis was halfway out the door, and slamming it behind him, as he yelled “Call me Louis, love!”

He was sure Harry would give him shit later for traumatizing the wedding planner, but for now he couldn’t think about it. The anxiety that had bubbled up inside him when he was waiting around with Niall had come back, despite Summer’s best intentions. He couldn’t just sit around and wait for the ceremony to begin. He had to do _something_ , and moving chairs seemed like the perfect plan at the moment.

Breaking into a slight jog, he crossed the meticulously well-kept lawn and approached the outdoor ceremony area. It was completely empty, the white chairs in perfect rows facing a delicate white trellis covered in beautiful flowers. He smiled thinking of the trip to the florist with Harry, listening intently as Harry explained all the meanings behind different options. It saddened him that this beautiful fixture wasn’t going to be a part of the ceremony, but there was no time to dwell.

Without much thought, he started grabbing chairs, one in each hand, and cumbersomely dragging them away from the outdoor area. There was a glass door that he knew connected to the ballroom about 50 feet away, and he began the slow journey with both chairs knocking into his legs as he trudged. The sky was darkening steadily, and he furrowed his brow as he dropped the chairs off in front of the door. If anyone was going to join him to help, they could start on the pile he was creating. For now, he returned to the chairs and grabbed a couple more.

It took two more trips for him to feel the first raindrop.

It startled him, cold on his nose, and he stopped in his tracks about halfway to the door, the chairs coming to rest on the ground slightly behind him.

“Well fuck,” he said aloud, looking up at the sky uselessly. Another drop hit him on the forehead, quickly followed by two more on his chin. There was something bubbling up inside him. He felt a little vindicated for the fit he threw earlier, some sadness that the hope of an outdoor ceremony was now completely squashed, panic that the chairs were going to get soaked if he didn’t move quickly and… something else. Something churning in his gut that made him want to throw one of these chairs across the lawn.

He was angry. Angry that he was in a tux, half an hour out from the ceremony, dragging chairs across a perfect lawn in the rain. Where were these employees Summer promised would save the day?

He let out an exasperated yell, not so loudly that people could hear him inside, but enough to release some of his frustration. The frequency of raindrops hitting his face was increasing now, and he knew it was only a matter of time before the skies really opened up on him.

Reaching the awning in front of the glass doors once again, he stacked the newest pair of chairs with the few he had managed to pull over and turned to look towards the rest of them. With hands on his hips, he shut his eyes in defeat as a crack of thunder rang out and the sound of raindrops hitting the roof intensified tenfold.

Logic was out the window at this point. That peal of thunder snapped something inside of Louis.

He started to rush out into the rain to continue dragging chairs, but something stopped him suddenly. Harry would kill him if he ruined this tux before the day even started. He paused for the split second it took to shrug the black jacket off his shoulders and drape it over a chair before turning back to face the storm.

He looked down, and shrugging at nothing in particular, swiftly toed off his loafers and socks, leaving them haphazardly on the concrete.

The first step into the wet grass was jarring, Louis’ pant cuffs immediately soaking up the moisture they were met with. In any other situation, he probably would have taken the time to consider what he was doing, but his focus had been narrowed down to one thing – if he could move these chairs, everything would be fine. He could still make the day perfect.

His clumsy trips were now even more burdened by the sudden downpour. Twice he almost fell making his way back to the ceremony area, mostly due to his insistence on running across the lawn in between trips.

The rain was relentless, coming at him from all angles with a deafening wind that muted everything outside of his own heavy breathing.

He felt like he was making pretty good headway, all things considered.

His pace was stalled only momentarily when, on his tenth or so trip, he thought about what someone looking out the window at that moment would see. Louis in his formal shirt and trousers, barefoot, stomping through the muddy lawn to gracelessly lug two chairs at a time towards the building.

He shook his head and continued, undeterred. Who cared what anyone thought, anyway? Certainly not Louis right now.

The monotony of the task lulled him into something of a trance. He no longer really noticed the rain, or the cold seeping into his skin starting at his feet. He could only see his goal – the chairs would need to be moved inside and wiped off soon, and he hoped that somewhere inside, Summer was _click clacking_ her way towards some helpful employees.

It was only when he heard a familiar voice calling to him that he was shaken out of his reverie.  

“Baby, what are you doing,” Harry’s voice was frantic, full of concern, and Louis looked up from dragging his two current chairs to see Harry striding quickly up to him, large umbrella in hand.

He was gorgeous. His hair was coiffed perfectly, and his custom tux looked incredible. Louis sucked in a breath in surprise as Harry came close enough to shield Louis underneath the protection of the shared umbrella.

“I’m, um-”

Looking into Harry’s eyes, Louis lost a little bit of his zealous motivation for his quest. Why had he been so frantic again? _God,_ _Harry was gorgeous_. “Hiiii.”

Louis smiled cheekily at Harry and slipped onto his tiptoes to give him a quick kiss.

“Told you I didn’t want to see you before the ceremony, you’re going to stress me out,” Louis continued rambling as Harry looked at him with wide eyes.

“Baby, I think we’re way past stressed out,” Harry said, as he took in Louis’ appearance – his white formal shirt was now completely translucent from the rain, and his pants were wet up to his knees. His feet were covered in mud, and bits of grass were sticking in between his toes.  

“Uh,” Louis stammered, looking down at himself at the same time as Harry. Having Harry in front of him, Louis saw himself through new eyes, and his shoulders slumped in resignation.

“Fuck,” he said, releasing his tight grip on the two chairs he had with him. “What the fuck am I doing?”

“I have no fucking clue,” Harry said, but he was smiling, obviously attempting to cover up his laughter.

Louis started smiling too, helpless to resist Harry’s charm even as he was dripping with rain.

Harry’s eyes crinkled with mirth, but they softened into something fonder as he started to speak again.

“You know it’s all going to be fine.”

Louis sighed, reaching up to grab onto Harry’s lapels, careful not to get him too wet.

“I just want today to be perfect.”

“It’s already perfect, love,” Harry said. He took the hand not holding onto the umbrella and cupped Louis’ face, gently rubbing his cheek back and forth with his thumb.

“It’s raining,” Louis pouted, as if he was pointing out something that wasn’t entirely obvious already.

“They say it’s good luck, ya know.”

Louis snorted.

“Why are you always so optimistic?”

“Because I’m pretty sure there’s nothing that could ruin this day. The only thing that matters is it’s full of love, and that’s not in danger of being rained on, right?”

Louis rolled his eyes softly, but his heart fluttered wildly listening to Harry.

“Right,” he agreed quietly, looking up into Harry’s eyes. Harry leaned down, pressing their lips together lightly and lingering for only a few seconds. “Ceremony starts really soon.”

Harry scrunched his nose like he was trying to contain his amusement.

“Baby, I don’t know what this day has done to your brain, but the ceremony’s at half six, not six.”

Louis furrowed his brow as he took in Harry’s words.

“No, it’s definitely-“

“Babe,” Harry said firmly, moving his hand from Louis’ cheek down to his thoroughly soaked shoulder. “We have time.”

Hearing Harry sound so sure was a balm for Louis’ anxious soul. He breathed out heavily once again, leaning forward to rest his forehead gently on Harry’s chest, leaving a wet spot.

He heard a commotion around them, and looked up to see ten employees clad in heavy rain jackets resuming the task that Louis had so valiantly tried to accomplish.

“See,” Harry said, smiling down at Louis once again. “It’s all taken care of. Now let’s go try and fix _this_ situation.” Harry gestured towards Louis’ body, and Louis looked down groaning.

“I really fucked up,” he said, shaking his head as Harry gently guided him towards the building, both of them still huddled under the umbrella.

“Nothing a spare tux can’t fix.”

“You have a-“ Louis cut himself off to stare at Harry incredulously. “Did you just have a backup for every single thing I planned for today? Indoor venue, extra tux, what else should I look forward to?”

“Well about the cake,” Harry started, but Louis knew he was joking from his tone, and he elbowed him playfully in the side.

“Come on,” Harry said, finally reaching the safety of the awning and reaching for the door handle to let Louis inside. “Let’s do this thing.”

\--

The ceremony went off without a hitch. Louis couldn’t even remember halfway through why he had been so bothered about the location. They were surrounded by friends and family, surrounded by love, and there wasn’t a dry eye in the house – least of all Harry and Louis’.

Now, as the reception was in full swing, the DJ pumping out retro hits to get people to dance, Louis looked over at Harry and smiled.

“I love you,” he said, leaning into him as Harry kissed the top of his head.

“I love you too, babe,” Harry said, smiling with crinkled eyes and dimpled cheeks. “Today was perfect, you did such a good job planning.”

“Couldn’t have done it without you.”

They took a moment to just rest against each other, taking in the revelry around them. Louis was starting to feel the effects of the long day, his eyes drooping just a bit, when the music was turned down and people started quieting their chatter to give their attention towards the front of the room.

Louis smiled widely as he saw who had the mic.

“God, she’s so beautiful,” he said wistfully, Harry murmuring his agreement next to him quietly.

“Um, hello,” the woman spoke into the mic, and cheers rang up around the hall. She laughed appreciatively, and gestured for everyone to settle down. Her bright green eyes shone with joy, visible even across the room where Louis and Harry sat. Louis listened intently as she began a prepared thank you, stumbling a bit over her words, but gaining confidence from the laughter and applause she provoked.

Louis could feel his eyes welling up with tears as she approached the crux of her speech.

“And most of all,” she said, her voice breaking a little bit, “I really want to thank my dads, from the bottom of my heart.” She gestured towards Harry and Louis’ table, and everyone craned their necks to get a look. Louis glanced at Harry to find his cheeks streaked with tears, the two of them a matching pair at this point.

“When Connor and I got engaged, my dads couldn’t have been more supportive or loving. The wedding planning process was really overwhelming to me, and they jumped right in with me. They’ve been with me every step of the way, not just with this wedding, but my whole life.”

Louis was openly crying at this point, watching his daughter with pride and an overabundance of love.

“I also couldn’t ask for better role models when it comes to a marriage,” she paused to wipe her cheeks, and took a breath. “I’m gonna lose it here in a second, so I’ll wrap it up.” She chuckled wetly, and sympathetic murmurs and giggles rang out around the hall. “I love you both, so much. And I’m actually going to pass it over to my dad, Harry, for the first speech.”

Louis looked at Harry in surprise, but Harry avoided his gaze as their daughter strode up to them quickly and wrapped them both in a hug.

“Love you darling,” he heard Harry murmur where he kissed her on the head.

Louis wrapped his arms around both of them, his heart full to bursting.

“Harper, that was so amazing. Such a great speech.”

Harper chuckled as they pulled back from the hug, “Guess it was alright. Bet dad’s about to show me up, though.”

“Oh, definitely,” Harry said smoothly, reaching for the mic as Louis and Harper laughed at him.

Harry cleared his throat and spoke into the mic as the chatter that had picked up following Harper’s speech died down once again.

“Um, hello,” he said, and was also met with cheers and applause from the room. “I’m Harry Tomlinson, Harper’s dad. Thank you so much for being here tonight.”

Louis settled back into his seat and gave his full attention to Harry, watching as he took a couple paces away from the table in order to face the room more fully.

“When Connor came to us last year,” he gestured towards Louis as he said this, “and asked our blessing to marry our Harper, it only took about two seconds for us to agree.  Also, I should mention now that Louis had no idea I was going to give this speech.”

The room laughed appreciatively as Louis shook his head dramatically for the crowd.

Harry smiled as he continued, “But knowing Louis like I do, I knew he would have made me promise not to make any terrible jokes, so I’m going to keep those to a minimum, for the sake of my marriage.”

Louis placed his palms together and looked up at the ceiling, in a silent gesture of thanks. Harry snorted at his joke before he continued.

“In all seriousness, though, I have to start off this speech with a thank you to my wonderful husband, Louis.”

Louis could hear Niall and Liam all the way across the room, whooping and whistling for their best friends. He giggled, and his cheeks turned red at the sudden direction of Harry’s speech.

“Some of you were there for our wedding many moons ago, but for those that weren’t, I need to set the scene for you.”

Louis groaned and put his face in his hands, which caused more laughter from the crowd. He had a feeling he knew where this was going.

“I think, first, we can all agree that today was a beautiful wedding, yes?” The room exploded with cheers as Harry continued. “That is absolutely thanks to my better half. Louis has tirelessly planned this for the past year, and it was hands down the best wedding I’ve ever been to. And, well,” he paused, and Louis glanced up from his hiding place behind his hands to see Harry smirking right at him. “Our wedding was… _a bit_ different.”

Louis crossed his arms and pursed his lips in defiance, but it was really to hold back the smile that threatened to take over his face.

 “I’ll spare you all the gory details, but I think Louis’ attitude towards our own wedding can be summed up with one interaction. When I asked Louis what he wanted to serve our guests at the reception, he looked at me dead in the eye and said ‘Uh, pizza rolls?’”

The room erupted with laughter, and Louis was helpless to join in. Harry was bent over with his hand on his knee, giggling loudly.

“Not even pizza,” he wheezed out, his voice two octaves higher than normal through his laughter. “Pizza rolls.”

“Oh come on,” Louis said quietly, shrugging in a gesture of innocence. His face ached a bit from smiling so much.

“Now, I don’t bring this up to embarrass Louis,” Harry said.

“Yes you do!” someone shouted from the back. Louis glared comically at Niall and Liam, who waved at him from their table.

Harry huffed out a chuckle, “I promise, that’s not my intention babe. I actually bring this up because when Harper and Connor got engaged, Louis was plugged in from day one. I was surprised at his dedication at first, given his history with wedding planning, but I quickly realized that it was silly of me to be surprised. From the minute that Harper was born, Louis has shown me, over and over, what true love and dedication to your family looks like.”

Louis’ tears, which had dried following Harper’s speech, welled up once again with fervor. He no longer noticed the crowd of people surrounding them, his eyes stuck on Harry who looked back at him with fierce dedication.

“So when I started thinking about what I wanted to say today, at first I thought maybe I’d try to be funny, but that didn’t really work out.” Appreciative chuckles rang out throughout the room. “And all I kept coming back to was my own experience. So Harper, Connor-“

Harry dug in his pocket to pull out some index cards, muttering into the mic, “Need some notes for this part” which got more laughs.

Harry turned away from Louis slightly to look at the newlyweds, who were listening intently from their seats, hands linked together gently on top of the table in front of them. Harry cleared his throat and began to read.

“Today you’re sitting next to your best friend, and you’re choosing them. You’re choosing them above all others, choosing to hold their hand as you walk down your shared path from now on.”

Louis glanced at Harper and Connor, who were shooting each other shy smiles as Harry continued to talk. Louis abandoned all hope of staving off the tears anymore.

“You should consider yourselves lucky, because not everyone gets the chance to wake up every day to their best friend.” Harry smiled quickly over at Louis, who tried hard to smile back through his tears. Their eye contact seemed to make Harry stumble a little, because when he next spoke his voice shook.

“And it’s not always going to be easy. I would be doing you a disservice as your dad if I stood up here and said it was all blue skies from here on out. There’s going to come a time when life gets tough, really tough, but what I can promise you is this – if you continue to choose each other, no matter what happens, you’re going to be so much stronger for it.”

Louis spared a glance for the people around him, and realized he wasn’t alone in his tears. There didn’t seem to be a dry eye around him.

“And one day,” Harry continued, finding his stride despite the emotion in his voice, “you’re going to wake up and you’re going to be a lot older. It won’t seem like any time has passed, but you’ll look in the mirror and think ‘Who is that?’”

Louis laughed quietly, wiping his face with the back of his hand.

“I hope, as your dad, that you’ll be a little bit wiser, maybe a little weathered, but if you’re lucky – you’ll shrug at that image in the mirror that doesn’t look quite as young, shuffle back into your bedroom, and your best friend will be there waiting for you. Snoring, and hogging the covers.”

Louis had to bring his hand up to his mouth to stifle the belly laugh that shot out of him. Harry looked at him, and Louis noticed him sneakily trying to brush away some tears that had fallen. At Louis’ laugh, though, he steeled himself and smiled brightly, turning back towards Harper and Connor.

“Your dad and I could not be prouder of you Harper. You and Connor are smart, passionate, caring people, and as a couple you shine twice as bright.”

Harper and Connor were beaming, tears streaking their cheeks as well.

“And Connor,” Harry said, addressing his new son-in-law specifically, “When Louis and I got married, all our friends referred to us as ‘The Dream Team’.”

Connor nodded happily, having heard this story from Harper many times. Liam and Niall wolf whistled from the crowd.

Harry smiled, “And when Harper was born, I didn’t realize how much more amazing life could get, but suddenly it was the three of us against the world. The new ‘Dream Team’ – Louis, and Harry, and Harper.”

Louis glanced between his daughter and his husband, beaming proudly.

“And getting to know you over the past few years, and having the honor of standing up here on your wedding day, I can say, from the bottom of mine and Louis’ hearts – welcome to the Dream Team, son.”

Harry lowered the mic as the room burst into applause and cheers. Harper and Connor got up from their seats to make their way over to Harry quickly, smothering him in a hug. Louis looked on with a smile, until Harper glanced over at him and gestured emphatically for him to get over there. He jumped up and joined the group hug, his tears returning in full force.

The next few minutes were a blur of everyone returning to their seats, and the next speech starting from the maid of honor.

Louis leaned over to whisper quietly to Harry, “That was quite the speech.”

Harry looked bashful, his cheeks glowing red suddenly. “Was it okay?”

Louis’ heart swelled with love, watching Harry’s hopeful expression.

He leaned over and planted a gentle kiss on Harry’s cheek and he murmured, “It was perfect. I love you.”

“Love you too, Lou,” Harry whispered, and he wrapped an arm around Louis as they settled in to listen to the rest of the speeches.

After a couple more hours of dancing and drinking, the wedding was finally winding down around them. They had just sent Harper and Connor off with sparklers on the front lawn, and there were only a handful of guests left mingling around the venue. Louis and Harry were dead on their feet, tired from working the room – greeting family members, thanking friends, making sure no one was forgotten.

“Now I remember why I let you plan our wedding,” Louis said, leaning heavily into Harry’s side as he closed his eyes dramatically. “This is exhausting.”

Harry laughed and placed a kiss on Louis’ head.

“Come on babe,” he said, nudging Louis to stand up on his own. “Let’s get out of here.”

Louis shot him a confused look.

“Harry, there’s so much to do. We’ve got to clean up-“

Harry cut him off with a shake of his head.

“Nope, absolutely not.”

He gently placed an arm around Louis’ waist and began leading him towards the door.

“You’ve done quite enough today, and Summer has promised me that there is nothing we need to worry about. They will handle everything.”

Louis went to protest, but a large yawn came out instead. He covered it with his hand and started nodding his head slowly.

“Alright, alright. Guess you’re right. Are we headed home?”

“Actually,” Harry said, smirking down at Louis beside him, “I booked us a room upstairs. Thought we deserved it after today.”

Louis smiled up at Harry, taking in his mischievous look. 

“Oh really?”

“Yep,” Harry said, guiding Louis towards the elevators instead of the front door of the venue. “Now come on, can’t wait to fall in bed with my best friend.”

Louis snorted.

“Very cheesy, babe.”

Harry stopped them in their tracks and turned, placing his hands on Louis’ shoulders and looking right into his eyes.

“You know I meant every word of that speech.”

Louis’ smile softened, taking in Harry’s concerned eyes.

“I know, love,” Louis whispered, rubbing Harry’s sides softly with his hands. “I couldn’t have said it better myself.”

“I’ve loved every minute of being married to you,” Harry said, still seeming to want to make sure Louis understood.

Louis smirked, “Even the snoring and blanket hogging?”

Harry nodded slowly.

“All of it.”

Louis took in the gravity of Harry’s words, watching his husband stand in front of him with as much love in his eyes as the day they were married.

Louis’ smile grew as he mirrored Harry’s slow head nod, and reaching up to cup his face, he echoed Harry’s words back to him.

“All of it.”

 The elevator dinged behind them, and they boarded it together, hand in hand.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!
> 
> Thank you to my wonderful friend [Molly](http://becomeawendybird.tumblr.com) ([QuickedWeen](https://archiveofourown.org/users/QuickedWeen)) for beta'ing this for me. You're the best!
> 
> If you liked this, please share the [fic post](https://letsjustsee.tumblr.com/post/159716264433/have-me-and-hold-me-author-letsjustsee-word), or come say hi on [tumblr](http://letsjustsee.tumblr.com)!


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